In the fast-paced world of eCommerce, having our customers’ undivided attention can be difficult. A customer can have products in their shopping cart, ready to complete the checkout process, but somewhere along the line it happens – they hesitate.
The uncertainty could be due to an outside distraction: the ringing of their cellphone or the realization that they are late for an appointment. However, the hesitancy could also be internal: something about your site confuses them. In either scenario, the customer may end up closing the browser tab and abandoning their cart, leaving behind the items they were so eager to purchase.
How can we reduce shopping cart abandonment? Luckily for us, there are actionable strategies you can implement to reduce shopping cart abandonment and recapture lost sales.
What is shopping cart abandonment?
An abandoned shopping cart is essentially an incomplete checkout. The user added items to their cart, but somewhere along the process, whether it be while shopping or during checkout, the customer left the page. For an eCommerce business, an abandoned cart is a lost sale. That’s why it is important to reduce the chances of a customer abandoning their cart.
How can we reduce shopping cart abandonment?
To reduce the number of potential customers abandoning their carts, we need to streamline the checkout process. From seeing the cart to paying for the items, it should be easy for users to buy your products and services. This idea doesn’t only apply to purchasing items online. Streamlining can be applied to services that are done via consultations as well. Overall, there should be a set of simple, easy steps that we can guide the user through to complete their purchase. To make checkout easy, we can incorporate some of the following strategies:
Display progress indicators
When it comes to purchasing products or services, one way to keep users going through the checkout process is to tell them what to expect. This can be done with a visual progress indicator. For example, after the user goes to check out, you can show the steps that they need to complete as a progress line at the top of the page, or as a folded list that they see open and close as they progress through the process. Overall, the uncertainty of the checkout process is a major reason people abandoned their carts and potential purchases, so it is important to clearly state the process.
Note: What if I don’t have a digital checkout process?
For businesses that sell services via consultations, it is important to tell your potential customer the steps they need to take to buy your services. These steps need to be short and concise. Having about three steps would be best, since it makes it feel less overwhelming for the customer. By having these steps explained to an interested customer, they are more likely to go through with the purchase since you have made the process easy to understand and imagine.
Offer guest checkout
In many articles, we have emphasized the importance of having a guest check out option when it comes to digital storefronts. Some users may not want to make an account with our business right away, and if we force them to make an account, they may just exit out of their browser, giving up on their purchase. To capture those users who want our products but aren’t fully committed to the idea of making a full account, guest checkout lets them purchase them anyway. While their information won’t necessarily be saved for future checkouts, it gives our products and services a chance to shine, ideally creating a reoccurring customer who may eventually create a real account with our business.
Note: How do we make account creation enticing?
To encourage users to create an account, the form itself needs to be simple. When offering users the chance to make an account, show the form so that they can visually see how short the form really is. Once they see that it is easy, they will be more likely to create an account. Another strategy we can use is offering account creation at the end of checkout. They have already entered the majority of their information, so all they may need to do to create an account is to create a password. Again, the easier account creation is, the more likely users will create an account.
Simplify your checkout forms
If the forms involved in your checkout process are long, confusing, or hard to use, customers may abandon their carts out of frustration. That’s why it’s important that your checkout form is optimized for quality user experience. This means that they should be short. Only ask for information that you really need. On top of that, the forms should be easy to understand and fill out. Make sure to properly test your website, especially your forms, such as checking for working error validation messages. You can also have someone else go through your forms and note if they have any confusion involving the words you use to describe fields or the organization of the fields themselves. This process can also be applied to contracts as well.
Offer multiple payment options
As businesses, we don’t want to lose customers due to being unable to accept their payment method. That’s why having multiple payment options is a must for eCommerce business. Not every customer will have the same preferences when it comes to how they purchase items online. Many may even be wary of giving their monetary information directly to your company. Offering payment methods such as PayPal, Square, Stripe, a variety of credit cards, debit cards, and so forth can make your checkout process easier for most customers since they don’t have to compromise on their preferred payment method to buy your products.
Be clear with your return and shipping policies
Customers don’t like surprises. When it comes to any policies you have, such as returning products or the shipping options available, being up front with those details makes it easier for customers to complete the checkout process. By knowing those details beforehand, they won’t be blindsided later on, which could cause them to abandon their cart out of frustration. Put these details where customers will see them, such as on the cart page itself. You can also remind users of your return process on the confirmation email of their purchase.
Utilize exit intent pop-ups
When it comes to digital checkout processes, one feature we can use to make users more aware of the decision they are making when exiting their cart is to give them a pop-up warning. These warnings are a way that we can ask users “are you sure you want to leave?” before exiting their browser. Afterall, some users may forget that they have items in their cart to begin with. These pop-up messages can also inform users of special deals or offers to entice them to stay on your site, increasing the odds that they will go through the checkout process.
What if a customer has already abandoned their cart?
Follow up with abandoned cart emails
When a cart is already abandoned, or a quote is never followed up on by the potential customer, we can take matters into our own hands as well! If we keep track of abandoned carts, we can set up our emails service provider to send automatic follow up emails reminding that customer of their incomplete purchase. This reminds users of the products they were interested in (since they did add them to their cart) and may encourage them to complete the checkout process. A follow email or phone call concerning an abandoned quote is essentially the same process since we are reminding users of their incomplete purchase.
Want to learn more?
To turn visitors into customers, we need to create quality user experiences. Read our blog or listen in to our podcast for more tips and guides on making your business the best it can be! If you want more hands-on guidance for improving your website, join the waitlist for Carrie Saunders’ upcoming course, “The Converting Website.” In this course, she will dive into a variety of important factors that aim to optimize your website.
